


Daylight

by LindtLuirae



Series: Infinity War Hurt Me, This is The Product [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff with a hint of angst, Infinity War spoilers, IronStrange, M/M, This fic is born out of the pain in my chest, Wakanda, my first marvel fanfic, peter parker is tony starks son and if you touch him you better be ready to pay, re: a coping mechanism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 13:45:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14546010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindtLuirae/pseuds/LindtLuirae
Summary: Tony had nothing, and then he had everything.





	Daylight

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, look at this. I actually found the courage in me to write a marvel fic, finally. It's just 1,300 words I wrote to cope with the pain in my chest. Infinity war hurt me so badly ya'll I can't believe I'm alive.
> 
> Note: this is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy.

Wakanda was quiet in a way New York could never be. In a way that made Tony feel almost at peace-- like perhaps this was where he belonged. He thought he’d miss the bubbling energy of the city but perhaps he was too jaded-- too old and tired and broken and many other things he didn’t like to think about. 

T’challa had been all too happy to open his home to them, embracing the lot of them like they were his own and Tony would never be able to articulate to the man how grateful he was, but gods, he was, he really, really was. 

Wakanda was quiet in a way New York could never be. He could finally hear his own thoughts here; walk the streets without feeling like the sky might collapse on his head, breathe in air with ease knowing he could never be found. 

In Wakanda they took refuge, the lot of them hurting, some of them broken beyond repair, never to be the same again. He’d watch the way Peter Quill sat at the balcony sometimes, watching the sun dip behind the hills, rigid in his posture like he never knew how to relax, like he was carrying the weight of the whole galaxies combined. And he’d turn away when he hears the soft sobs of Wanda from her room, where she’d been for weeks on end and hold back his own. Because he knew their kind of pain, because he was all too familiar with it.

Except he got a second chance and they never did.

Misery lurked in dark corners, trying hard to remain concealed, mountains of grief and pain locked behind blank faces and dead eyes, begging to burst through. 

But, there was happiness too. A momentary lapse of peace that wasn’t as brief as they would forever fear. He saw it in those not so miserable corners in Wakanda, when he’d walk around the farms and see Bucky teaching Steve how to feed the goats. Bucky who lacked an entire arm shoulder-down but whose other hand was proudly wrapped around Steve’s for everyone to see, shy but never hesitant, not anymore.

And he’d watch Steve, his old --will always be- friend, look up at Bucky and he’d smile and it would hold a quality of warmth so sincere it’d make Tony look away with a secretive smile. Because he had forgiven Steve. Because you could never fight a life or death war and come out of it still holding a grudge. Because deep in his heart all Tony wanted was for Steve to be happy, and he was okay with coming second because he now understood what it was like to lose someone you love only to find them again.

He now knew all too well. 

“Strange, I thought we agreed the balcony bedroom is mine?” Tony swept into his bedroom with a hint of the dramatic flair he used to possess before the world reminded him everything was temporary and painful, voice lightly reprimanding but not holding any real heat.

Stephen looked up from the thick book he was reading, his hair drifting lightly in that infuriatingly captivating way of his. “It seems my room has been taken over. I had to relocate.”

“And you thought my room most fitting for your relocation?” Tony arched an eyebrow, striding without pause to the balcony that overlooked the whole of Wakanda. An incredible view it was, sadly not incredible enough to distract him from Stephen approaching him.

“Well, yes,” Stephen replied, leaning against the side of the balcony and surveying Tony’s side profile.

It was new, this thing between them. As fragile as a new life. But it was there, warm and nestled between his ribs, beating wildly every time he was close to the other man. 

He wanted to hold onto it tighter, but he was scared of fracturing it. 

“Had a nice stroll?” Stephen redirected, tilting his head in the direction of the farm. “I heard you visit the goats sometimes.”

“Yeah, they’re cute goats,” Tony said softly. He was tired of being scared, of feeling anxious. He was tired of wanting something and not having it. Sometimes he wondered if he was a coward; if it was fear of rejection or fear of commitment that stopped him every time. 

He finally turned to look at his companion. If he had ever thought Stephen’s face was incapable of warmth, he was dead wrong. He reached for the man’s face without a conscious thought, cupping his cheek gently against his palm.

Stephen held his gaze, but he seemed to have stopped breathing for a moment. 

“I’m sorry I blamed you.” Tony finally said. He had been meaning to say this for weeks now, guilt chipping away at his heart. For the longest time he’d hated Stephen for giving Thanos the time stone, leaving him stranded on a deserted planet with nothing but the wizard’s ashes to solidify that yes, that was Tony’s reality. 

That yes, Peter’s death was on him. That yes, if he had been more convincing, it could’ve all been avoided. 

Stephen’s hand closed around his, dragging Tony’s hand away from his cheek but grasping it firmly. “I’m also sorry. For not making it clear that it was the only way. That you had to live for us to win.”

Clear green eyes crinkled at the edges as Stephen smiled, something sincere and secret and just for him to see and-- well. Tony did say he was tired of waiting, of not having what he wanted and if he could defeat the strongest entity in the galaxy, surely he could get the guy. Surely this thing between them would last, surely happiness was finally in the books for him.

Surely it would be fine as he tugged Stephen closer and went for it, grasping at the back of the wizard’s neck with his free hands and pressing their mouths together.  
He felt more than heard the hitch in Stephen’s breath and then he was being tugged closer, locked firmly between the rail of the balcony and Stephen’s body and he was being kissed firm and hard and deep and he decided it was definitely, absolutely worth it, even when someone whistled at them from the opposing balcony, even when Peter would later crash into their shared room and ask if he should relocate because surely he won’t share a room with them! He didn’t need to hear or see them do their gross couple-y stuff!

Tony was finally happy, he decided, maybe not in the way he used to be when he’d be drunk at a party in some seven-star hotel. Definitely not. But he was happy in quieter, warmer way. Happy with security in his bones when he’d retreat to bed at night and it’d be warm with the presence of another person.

Happy with alien yet exhilarating sensation of being kissed and loved and appreciated in ways he’d long forgotten, happy with being wanted and needed and most of all, belonging. 

Because Tony now had something he’d lacked for years and years, a family.

And perhaps they weren’t perfect or whole, but they had each other and that was enough for him. 

Yes, some wounds were still fresh, and misery lurked around some corners and Tony still woke up to the sound of Peter’s sobs as the kid awoke from yet another nightmare of him disappearing to dust. But now Tony held him tight with the knowledge that he wouldn’t, that Peter was his to protect always, that he would never lose him again, the world be damned.

And Peter would believe him, because it was true, because Tony did tear apart the planets saving them, because even though it went unsaid, Peter was like the son he’d always wanted and Tony would do his damn hardest to protect him. 

“You’re alright.” He told Peter, as the kid’s shoulders stopped shaking. “You’re okay, I promise you.”

And this time, it was true.


End file.
